Dragon Ball Z: Supersonic Warriors 2Review

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They may be a dime a dozen, but this one's licensed gold.

By Mark Bozon

The Dragon Ball franchise is one of the longest running anime series in history. Dragon Ball Z, which has become the main brand extension here in America, spans over 180 episodes, so it is no surprise when a new game finds its way onto shelves once again. As a sequel to the GBA fighter, Dragon Ball Z: Supersonic Warriors 2 takes the original design and amplifies it, adding a strong tag-team mode, mixed with some seriously impressive speed and visuals. The end result: A solid licensed product that fans can be proud to call their own.

While the fighting genre may not be in heavy contention here in America, with Marvel Nemesis as the only other brawler, importers have found Jump Superstars to be an amazing fighter, ranking with the likes of Nintendo's Super Smash Brothers series. While Dragon Ball Z may not be as strong a fighter as Jump Superstars, it is by far the best handheld fighting game for American gamers. For starters, there are tons of game modes, including a full story mode for each player (utilizing a map interface like Street Fighter Alpha 3), Free Battle, a main arcade mode called Z-Battle, a full tutorial story mode, and two-player battle. Designers try to keep the action balanced by use of the "Dragon Points" system, allowing the player to use any combination of up to three characters, as long as they fall within a certain total amount of points. Basically, if Trunks and Gohan are two points each, they will equal a four point character. This works well, but there are certain times in story mode when the script forces a lower level character, such as young Gohan, to take on a more powerful character such as Super Saiyan Goku. While these battles are still possible to beat, they are very difficult.

The main gameplay mechanic is solid in its design, offering tons of fast paced combos and supers worthy of a Dragon Ball Z game. The tag system works well, and the overall design makes the game feel like a cartoon. Since the whole system is based on the team's "Power Level," there are actually times such as the ones in the show when both characters are standing face to face and charging up to prep for the climax. It is very cool to be a part of such an epic feeling battle. Balance, however, is difficult to achieve, since the game is based on the Dragon Points. Mismatches often happen during the heat of competition, and more often than not the stronger ranked character will come out on top. Trunks Vs Perfect Cell? Trunks gets destroyed. There are ways to work around it, since the team shares Dragon Power, which is used to pull off super combos. The player can charge up the power level, then switch to a weak player and unleash all the supers using the full power gauge. Situations like these force players to learn the ins and outs of every character, and though it adds a rather large learning curve, it also forces players to work around a weakness in the gameplay mechanic.

Another minor gripe comes with the super powers and throwing system. Certain moves need a ton of room to pull off (such as throws, team attacks, and super combos), so these moves often initiate a scripted event to show the attack. To make sure the combo has room to be performed, the players are reset to the middle of the level during the attack, and then plopped back to their previous positions after the event finishes. Since the action is cut well it is tough to notice, but it is a little weird to see the fighters jump around just because a main combo was used. The end product feels like a scene from the show that uses canned animation over and over. This may be a minor gripe, but it affects the game flow nonetheless. A combo system is included, so when Goku goes Super Saiyan and pulls off a 60 hit combo, the number will rack up during the attack. Unfortunately, the combo counter expires much to fast, making it impossible to rack up huge custom combos with basic moves. The combo system really is a let down, as it would be very impressive to see combos reach into the hundreds. That being said, the gameplay as a whole is far more impressive than any fighter on GBA or DS. The air fighting is a great change of pace, and battles stay fierce from beginning to end.

The visual flare of Supersonic Warriors helps to further the experience, again a welcomed change from the average licensed product. Characters use attacks and supers straight from the show, and it is noticeable. Even their flying poses are exact. Fight is done using key poses much like the show, keeping the flow of the game fast, while still allowing enough cart space for the 30 playable characters. Environments are nothing more than a 3D backdrop, and there is no interaction with any of the areas. The playfield is huge, however, and when chasing a fighter around the world a tremendous sense of speed is given (especially when flying low to the ground). The camera zooms in and out depending on the distance between the fighters, giving each battle a cinematic flare similar to the show itself. It really adds a depth that the GBA couldn't pull off, and it helps a great deal. Dragon Ball Z includes a strong audio performance as well, offering guitar riffs inspired from the show and a decent production of voice samples. Characters call out attacks during battle, which really helps to add excitement to the fights. Additional voice samples for each character would have helped, however, as they are used constantly and become repetitive as time goes on. As an overall package, the sound and graphical presentation help a great deal when teamed with solid gameplay.

The Verdict

Dragon Ball Z: Supersonic Warriors 2 is by far the best handheld DBZ game, period. The battle is fast and fierce, the visuals are stunning, and the amount of replay value crammed into the cart will keep any fan going for quite a long time. The addition of multiplayer was needed, though a single cart mode would have been nice, and the inclusion of a 30 person cast, combined with multiple story modes for all the main characters was ambitious and unexpected. Rather than offering a bare bones fighter reminiscent of the fairly strong GBA version, Atari went all out, offering fans an entirely new package that delivers Dragon Ball Z at its finest. While the game still has a few flaws in gameplay and story mode structure, its strengths far outweigh its weaknesses, putting Supersonic Warriors 2 high on the list for entertaining licensed games on the system.

8PresentationThe look and feel of the franchise is felt throughout. Larger on-screen buttons and character names on the HUD would have helped.

7.5GraphicsRather than porting the GBA animation, this one was built from the ground up, and it paid off.

7SoundStrong themed music mixed with average sound effects. More voice samples would have helped to keep the audio fresh.

7.5GameplayBattle is quick and furious, but could have had a bit more depth. Dragon Ball Z easily takes the number one slot for DS fighters.

8Lasting AppealOffering multiple modes of play and over 30 characters, this one will keep you playing for quite some time. We look forward to four player multiplayer, or at least single cart in the next version.